UPDATE: Matthew Grant was found safe in Pennsylvania on Dec. 13.
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Matthew Grant, a student from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), has been missing since Nov. 20 and police and his family have not stopped searching for him.
The 22-year-old Onaway, Michigan native was last seen leaving Rochester around 10 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 20 without his phone. According to 13 WHAM, Grant told his roommates he was going to meet a friend, but instead went east.
Driving a 2014 gray Jeep Cherokee with Michigan license plate ESR 8141, Grant was last tracked to New York State Thruway Exit 36 near Interstate 81 (Watertown/Binghamton).
An update to the case, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office received surveillance footage from a gas station between Thruway exits 41 (Waterloo) and 39 (Syracuse) the night of Grant’s disappearance. The Democrat and Chronicle reported that Deputy Brendan Hurley said Grant was walking around inside the gas station convenience store in the video. He appeared to be alone and not in distress.
Grant is described by authorities as being 5-foot-8, and 125 pounds, with brown hair, and brown eyes. He was last observed wearing a green jacket and blue jeans.
Recent online searches on Grant’s computer pulled up maps of the Adirondacks and the Appalachian Trail, though his father, Mark Grant said his disdain for the cold made those confusing locations for his son to head to.
Mark told News 8 in Rochester he plans to continue searching for his son in the Syracuse region.
“In all honesty, I don’t know how I can go home again until I know where he’s at and what has happened,” he said. “I’m as broken as a person can be, but I refuse to quit.”
Grant’s family has been searching in Ithaca, Oneida area, the Adirondacks, and most recently, Lake Placid.
A statement from RIT was sent to students, thanking them for their support in the search for Matthew. The message also reminded students that while there is a Facebook group dedicated to finding him, any information, regardless of how insignificant it might seem, should be reported directly by calling 911, RIT Public Safety at 585-475-3333 or sending a text to 585-205-8333.